The Military Tribunal rejected on Friday Islamist Shadi al-Mawlawi’s request to be released from detention.

The request has been rejected by Military Examining Magistrate Nabil Wehbeh and Government Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr.

The whereabouts of the six militants who had escaped the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp remains unknown, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Friday.

It said that it is likely that they headed to the northern city of Tripoli before heading to Syria to take part in the revolt against the country’s ruling regime.

Speaker Nabih Berri said on Friday that his suggestion on resuming the national dialogue should focus on discussing the situation in the northern city of Tripoli, stressing that if needed, the dialogue could discuss other issues.

“The (suggested) national dialogue will not tackle the arms that are apparently widely spreading in various places” across Lebanon, Berri told As Safir.

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji stressed that politicians have a responsibility to work on restoring calm in the northern city of Tripoli, reported As Safir newspaper on Friday.

He told the newspaper: “More than half of the gunmen in Tripoli are under the politicians’ influence.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati expressed optimism that calm would be restored in the northern city of Tripoli as all officials in the city are seeking to resolve the situation.

“We have passed through difficult situations but we were able to overcome them, it’s time for us to discuss the future,” Miqati told An Nahar newspaper on Friday.

Only hours after the Lebanese army intercepted the weapon-laden ship Lutfallah II off Tripoli’s coast, the Lebanese media was buzzing with reports attributed to security and political officials and claiming that the Lebanese army had received intelligence information from “major Western states,” with some saying that the U.S. was behind the intelligence tip-off.

The reports spoke of an arms shipment destined for the Syrian opposition, which Washington feared would end up in the hands of pro-Qaida gunmen practicing their activities in Syria and Lebanon – which further allowed the army to intercept the ship and seize its cargo.

Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi confirmed Thursday that he has filed a lawsuit against the General Directorate of General Security, rejecting any attempt to “implicate” him without his consent in the latest unrest in Tripoli.

The northern city has been witnessing intermittent deadly clashes since five days that were sparked by the arrest on Saturday of Islamist activist Shadi al-Mawlawi by General Security agents at the entrance of an office belonging to Safadi.

Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday said he discussed with Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri the possibility of calling the leaders of the national dialogue committee to a meeting under the chairmanship of President Michel Suleiman that would “at least discuss” the latest unrest in Tripoli.

Following a meeting in Ain al-Tineh, Berri said talks with Asiri also tackled “the need for the Lebanese to take a unified stance in order to find an urgent, effective and permanent solution to the situation in the North.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati chaired a security meeting at his residence in the northern city of Tripoli on Thursday to follow up the on the latest developments in the city.

The premier demanded the security forces to set up checkposts in the city to restore security, to tighten security measures, and detain any gunmen.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s political aide Hussein Khalil stressed on Thursday that the strong sectarian rhetoric must end if officials want to find a radical solution for the local crises and security breaches.

“What is happening in the country is the result of the sectarian flaring… which has negative repercussions on the country’s stability and the civil peace,” Khalil said in an interview with al-Liwaa newspaper.